Cubs Minor League News: Rooke League Recaps |
Although April was the official start of Minor League Baseball, Monday marked another significant date in the season as Rookie League Monday officially got underway for the first time in 2023. With the start of the Rookie Leagues getting underway, there will be no off days on Mondays anymore, as the Rookie leagues will occupy that day to showcase their talents.
For the Cubs, they are one of the organizations that have three Rookie League teams. Two hail from the Dominican Republic as part of the Dominican Summer League, while the other takes place in the Arizona Complex League. Looking to kick off their Rookie seasons with a bang, the Cubs posted a 1-2 record as fans have even more players to keep track of.
Unlike the full-season leagues, many Dominican Summer games go seven innings, which was no different as the Cubs held off the Mets 2-1. Diego Dugarte got the start and gave the Cubs four scoreless frames in a no-decision effort. Offensively, it took five innings for anyone to score, with the Mets cracking the scoreboard first. The Cubs didn't do themselves any favors, as an error in the fifth led to the game's first run and put the Mets in front 1-0. The Cubs quickly tied things up, with Derik Alcantara picking up a game-tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth. One inning later, it was the Met's turn to give the Cubs a favor as a costly error allowed for the game-winning run to score in what was a 2-1 win. The Cubs had just two hits as Edward Vargas and Leonel Espinoza grabbed those hits. Derniche Valdez made his professional debut and went hitless with a strikeout.
While pitching was the story in one of the DSL games, hitting was the story in the other, with the Cubs and Red Sox combining for 15 runs and needing 10 innings to decide a winner. Melvyn Amador got the start and was roughed up for five runs in two innings, as it was not his day. Take him out of the mix, and the Cubs had outstanding pitching, especially from Wellington Quintero, who allowed one run in three innings with five punchouts. Despite the loss, the Cub's offense looked good as they got off to a quick start in the second. Ludwig Espinoza opened up the scoring with an RBI single, with Angel Cepeda adding an RBI double later in the frame. Here's a clip from the other day of DSL IF Angel Cepeda with a nice exit velocity reading: pic.twitter.com/5AFlz01Tyj Mix that with a passed ball, and the Cubs led 3-0 early. Holding that lead in the third, it was the Red Sox's turn to get their offense going as they used a massive inning to take the lead and seize control. Starlyn Nunez tied things up with just one swing as his bases-clearing RBI double made things 3-3. Nunez came around to score on the Frederik Jimenez double to put the Red Sox in front, while the two-run Kleyvar Salazar double capped off a six-run inning with the Cubs now trailing 6-3. Credit the Cubs' pen, however, as they got through the remainder of regulation without allowing a run which gave the offense a chance to do some damage. That they did in the fourth and fifth innings, with Espinoza coming through with his second RBI hit to pull the Cubs within 6-4 in the fourth. The Cubs continued their comeback effort in the fifth with RBI doubles from Albert Gutierrez and Josias Ramirez as the Cubs battled back to tie things up 6-6. Those would be the final runs in regulation, as these teams would need extras to decide a winner. It was in the 10th when the Cubs retook the lead as Daniel Benschop picked up a single to make things 7-6. The Cubs had a chance for more but couldn't cash in with the clutch hit they needed. Down to their final three outs, the Red Sox would not go away quietly as Chad Delancey tied things up with a sacrifice fly to keep things alive. With the game-winning run standing on third, the Cubs handed the Red Sox the win as a costly passed ball allowed that runner to score as the Red Sox walked off the Cubs 8-7. Espinoza and Ramirez led the way for the offense with two hits. Espinoza also added two RBIs in the win.
Monday was a nightmare for the Cubs as their ACL opener against the Angels didn't go as planned. Sparked by a trio of big innings, including a seven-run seventh, the Angels made quick work of the Cubs and disposed of them 21-10. Mason McGwire was on the mound for the Cubs and allowed four runs on four hits in two innings. That was the theme of the night as the Cub's pitching did them little to no favors as Luis Reyes posted the best line of the night. Despite what the final score shows, the Cubs had an early lead, with Anderson Suriel connecting for a two-run single in the first to put the Cubs in front 2-0. Not only did that lead not last long, but it evaporated in the blink of an eye, with the Angels scoring four times in the second to take the lead for good. Anthony Scull put them on the board with an RBI triple before coming home to tie things up on the Eliezer Rivero single. Capri Ortiz capped off the massive inning with a two-run double to give the Angels the 4-2 advantage. Things went from bad to worse for the Cubs in the third, with Rivero adding a sacrifice fly along with a wild pitch to make things 6-2. Trailing 7-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Christopher Paciolla put the Cubs back on the board as he reached base on an error to make things 7-3. That was as close as the Cubs would get as the Angels pushed the lead to 8-3 in the fifth before busting the game wide open in the seventh. In that seventh inning, a trio of wild pitches led to three runs, as the Cubs were not doing themselves any favors. Add in singles from Ortiz, Dario Laverde, and Randy De Jesus, and the Angels scored seven more times to push the lead to 15-3 and then made it 21-3 as the Angels pushed across six more runs in the eighth. Hoping to salvage at least a little momentum heading into Tuesday, Suriel capped off his great day with another RBI hit as his double made things 21-5. Cristian More followed that up with an RBI single and pulled the Cubs to within 21-6 with an RBI fielder's choice from Christian Olivo, making things 21-7. The Cubs added three more runs in the ninth on RBIs from Geuri Lubo, More, and Paciolla before falling 21-10. Suriel led the way for the Cubs with three hits and three RBIs.DSL CUBS BLUE 2 - DSL METS 1
DSL RED SOX 8 - DSL CUBS BLUE 7 (F/10)
ACL ANGELS 21 - ACL CUBS 10
